ICE Canola Continues Upward Climb

Traders are still trying to get a handle on just how many canola acres will be left unseeded this year due to excessive moisture, particularly in Saskatchewan and parts of Manitoba. While farmers continue to try and make some seeding progress, conditions in the wettest areas remain generally unfavourable and market participants estimate that anywhere from one million to five million acres originally destined for canola will not be seeded this year.

The weather related rally in canola has also helped the market move above some nearby technical resistance levels. Traders said speculative buying could be building in canola, providing further support.

Calls for a firmer start to the North American session for CBOT soybeans were also expected to help underpin canola, according to traders.

However, the continued strength in the Canadian dollar could limit the upside in canola. Ideas that the recent gains may be starting to look overdone, leaving canola open to some profit-taking pressure, also tempered the advances.

About 2,300 canola contracts had traded as of 8:40 CDT.

Western barley was holding steady, with five contracts actually traded in the October futures.

Prices in Canadian dollars per metric ton at 8:40 CDT: